A referendum on the first term of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has made a concerted effort to put off announcing his bid for re-election until closer to 2014, is nevertheless already afoot.

Malloy's Democratic surrogates have ratcheted up their defense of the chief executive, attempting to cast him as a steady leader who has stuck up for the middle class and guided the state through calamitous storms, a fiscal mess and the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

"He is turning things around," state Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy DiNardo said. "Everybody talks about the great leadership ability he has demonstrated in the face of crises."

Republicans contend that Malloy's reluctance to declare himself a candidate and the deluge of opposition research from Democrats shows weakness from a sitting governor who presided over the only state economy to shrink in gross domestic product during 2012.

"Well, they're certainly not acting in a confident fashion," said Jerry Labriola Jr., the state GOP chairman. "I would not want to have to play their hand, considering the severe economic underachievement which they have presided over during their tenure."

DiNardo rejected the idea that Malloy is ducking his political opponents.

"I think the governor feels that he needs to be governing right now," she said. "That's what the people elected him to do, and that's what he wants to do."

While Malloy trailed his 2010 Republican foe Tom Foley in a June 19 Quinnipiac University poll, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report in Washington, D.C., handicapped the governor's race as leaning in his direction, a slight downgrade from its previous rating of a "likely" victory for Malloy. Foley, who lost to Malloy by 6,500 votes and has said he wants a rematch, has yet to formally enter the race.

"Despite Malloy's weak poll numbers, Connecticut is still a blue state and it looks like Republicans will have a primary," said Jennifer Duffy, a senior editor for Cook. "It wouldn't surprise me, though, if the race doesn't get a more competitive rating once it really starts to take shape."

The vitriol between rival political operatives gives the impression that the race is far from shapeless.

Democrats have deployed countermeasures against the expanding field of potential GOP challengers, who have blamed Connecticut's economic malaise on the tax-and-spend policies of Malloy.

Since July 23, the state Democratic Party's press shop has gone into overdrive, cluttering reporters' inboxes with daily emails tarring Malloy's critics as out of touch with the middle class and politically opportunistic when it comes to accepting taxpayer funds for their campaigns or municipal aid from the state.

The drumbeat started with GOP state Senate Minority Leader John McKinney, who declared his candidacy for governor in July. It resumed this past week when Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton, a self-proclaimed "blue-collar Republican" filed exploratory papers for a potential run for governor.

On the eve of Boughton's debut, Democrats highlighted that he voted against raising the minimum wage when he served in the Legislature. Boughton said he voted against the minimum wage because it included a provision allowing 15-year-olds to work longer hours, something he, as a former teacher, opposed.

"By the way, isn't that great when you get criticized already?" Boughton said the day of his announcement. "It says they're scared. That's a good thing."

Inquiries of a political nature are frequently redirected by Malloy's aides to the governor's former campaign manager and former top adviser, Roy Occhiogrosso, who disputed Boughton's homespun narrative as a populist.

"His voting record suggests otherwise," Occhiogrosso said.

McKinney opened up a new line of attack against Malloy on Friday, scrutinizing the Office of Policy and Management -- the state agency in charge of the budget -- for opening up a Twitter account on Aug. 12.

He took exception to the first tweet from OPM, which said, "The State's average annual expenditure growth is lower in (fiscal years) 2012-15 than under previous two administrations."

"I think what's more important and what's more frightening is the governor is clearly using state resources to engage in politicking and to try to promote his candidacy," McKinney said.

Malloy spokesman Andrew Doba denied that there is anything shady going on with OPM's Twitter account.

"Sen. McKinney is wrong," Doba said. "While he may not recognize it, that's actually called a fact. It is a fact that the state's average annual expenditure growth is lower in (fiscal years) 2012-15 than under the previous two administrations, despite assertions from the senator and many members of his caucus."

OPM defended its tweets.

"People are increasingly getting their news from nontraditional sources and social media is one of them," said Gian-Carl Casa, OPM undersecretary for legislative affairs. "It's also a way to get in touch with more traditional media outlets. Connecticut's making progress in tackling our budget and fiscal problems, and we'll use Twitter to help get that information to the press and the general public."